Activision planning to spend $500 million on Destiny

06 May, 2014

Activision intends to spend $500 million developing and promoting "Destiny," according to a new report.

According to Reuters, CEO Bobby Kotick revealed the number during the Milken conference in Los Angeles last week. A company spokesperson said this cost includes marketing, packaging, infrastructure support, royalties and other costs.

Activision is eager to lay the foundation for its next multi-game blockbuster series and hope that Destiny can re-invigorate Activision's revenue, which slid 6 percent in 2013.

With the figure being so high, analysts say, to break even, Activision would have to sell around 15 million to 16 million units of the $60 game.

"It's a head scratcher, said Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia. "For brand new IP, it's tough but it could post a big surprise."

To put things into perspective Take Two Interactive spent $260 million to develop, produce and market the fifth instalment of Grand Theft Auto, a title which has gone on to sell over 32.5 million units to date.

"Bungie's very ambitious plan is designed to unfold over a 10-year period, "said an Activision spokesperson. "The depth of creative content, scope and scale is unprecedented and is required to bring Bungie's vision to life.

"Over the long term, we expect the ultimate product costs to be roughly in line with other Triple-A titles."

What do you think of this news? Is Activision making a big bet or is Destiny sure to be the next big thing?

Edited On 06 May, 2014

Joe is the Editor in Chief at Shopto news, he loves gaming and regularly writes news when sitting on the train to events even though he has a 3DS in his pocket.

“That's a lot of money lol. I try and not get caught up in the hype with a game like this, been disappointed too many times in the past. What I find odd though, when Bungie moved away from Microsoft they said they wanted to move away from Halo and do something totally "new" nearly every report I've read about Destiny says, it looks like Halo, plays like Halo, the weapons feel like Halo? not really doing something new? Mind you ( and it's one persons opinion ) Kotaku reported that found it a little boring http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2014/04/28/played-45-minutes-destiny-kind-boring I hope we are looking at GOTY but we shall see.”

Old Timer
10 months ago

“Destiny looks good, but if it plays good, that is another story. $500 million is a lot, but aggressive marketing has effect on people. If you see a product that is advertised on all sides, you will have the urge to try it out, if not buy it. That is the simple math. Bungie has a good record with Halo, especially with the last Halo title they released (Halo Reach, which is my favorite). I agree with Old Timer that this is not something new and too different from Halo. Personally I will wait and see. I would like to have the chance to try it before I buy it (open beta?). The same thing happened to me with Titanfall. I was skeptical about it, but after I played the open beta, I liked it a lot. I bought it on Origin. It is a great timekiller. Maybe Destiny will be the same. We shall wait and see.”

ZdravkoN
10 months ago

“Hoping this one a good one . enjoyed the halo games from bungie .I wouldnt say I'm great at multiplayer but maybe I will give it a try again with this title since it has team missions. But ultimatley I'm looking forward to the campaign and the shiney shiney :-)”

Neil
10 months ago

“The game itself looks great, Bungie has released some great games before they took off with Halo. Nice to see that they are doing some different after many years. Cannot wait to play the beta.”

Alexander
10 months ago

“I have to agree with Old timer that it does look like Halo. Not that it is necessarily a bad thing. I am looking forward to it as I like the idea however I was reading that apparently when the game launches there will not be the ability to trade weapons with friends which is kind of rubbish.”

Zombieflamingo
10 months ago

“I think the $500M is probably more over the course of the games life, (unless I'm reading it wrong). Looking 'like' Halo is not necessarily a bad thing. I am looking forward to a multiplayer game that isn't all about being competitive and more cooperative”

Dave 'BubbaJai' Aston
10 months ago

“@ Zombie, I don't think it's a bad thing, I personally love the Halo series so any games that play, look like Halo, well bring it on I say. I'm just a little surprised after what Bungie said when they moved away from Microsoft, "we want to move away from Halo and do something different" ok I know it's not a Halo game but after those comments I was expecting it to be a little different than what we are seeing in Destiny.”

Old Timer
10 months ago

“I know what you mean. I was never into the competitive side of Halo but I did enjoy the campaign and co-op so this looks good for me. I just feel that if you didn't know much about it and just looked to see it was Bunjie you could easily mistake it for Halo.”

Zombieflamingo
10 months ago

“I used to be big into the competitive side of Halo but I came to a realization that I wasn't playing any other games ”

Loli-Nox-Tan
10 months ago

“It's a lot of money but Activision isn't afraid of pumping money into something that they feel is worth it. I don't know how much they've spent on call of duty games but i bet it's a lot. I'm looking forward to playing the beta in the summer though, should be good.”

Spear 25
10 months ago

“I have a bad feeling about this.”

Gloria
10 months ago

“Oh I can not wait for this. Really bad timing though. Eurogamer starts not long after. I was planning to binge play this, but I want to do a four day Eurogamer run :(”

Doom Of Shadow
10 months ago

“A lot of money! I will be purchasing in September to see if the game lives up to the hype ”